KOTA KINABALU. A 91 year old from Kobusak Penampang
testified via a Kadazan court interpreter that he trusted his nephew and handed
over the original land title to him when told that the buyer was Tan Sri Richard
Malanjum, the present Chief Judge of the High Court of Sabah and Sarawak.
Anthony Lojuta was testifying as plaintiff against Clarence
Sipain Mojingol whose name now appeared in his land title as the buyer as well
as 5 others including the Lands and Survey Department.
The plaintiff stated he acquired the land from a lady in
2004 when she could not pay a loan of RM135 thousand. Although lowly educated,
he is able to sign when the land was transferred to him. In 2013 he thought of
selling the land for around RM1.5 million which has an existing concrete house
and told his relative and friends and may have reached the ears of land brokers
but did not advertise in news.
He also informed his nephew Edward John Bruno Lojuta @
Tiwot. In Aug 2013 Tiwot came telling him a Tan Sri wants to buy the land and
ask for the land title to show the buyer.
Plaintiff instructed Tiwot not to give the title to any
buyer unless able to pay the full price. At about midday in Aug 2013 Tiwot came
to his house with a blank white paper with nothing written on it to get the
thumb print of the plaintiff for the purpose of processing payment into his
account.
Tiwot only requested for the thumbprint once. He never
signed or placed his thumb print on any other documents. He trusted Tiwot after
being told that the Tan Sri whom he knows well was the potential buyer.
Upon request by Tiwot, he gave his account number of a
bank at Donggongon. The same day Tiwot took the land title with instructions
not to sell below RM1.5 million and not to give the title to anyone before the
full payment is made.
Afterwards Tiwot informed that money has been placed in
his account on 23 Aug 2013 at his Donggongon account. Plaintiff went to check
his account to find that only RM50 thousand has been deposited. When he called
Tiwot he was told that the buyer will pay by instalment. When he called again
to ask for the return of the land title and that he wanted to return the money
because he disagreed with the payment by installment, Tiwot now refused to
answer his calls.
He then felt that he was cheated and went to the Native
Court Penampang to report. There he met an Assistant Native Chief William who
help him checked the status of the land.
The Land Office informed that the land title have already
been transferred to Clarence Sipain Mojingol.
The plaintiff then realised he was really cheated because
he only got 50 thousand and the buyer was a total stranger to him.
He made a police report on 24 Aug 2013 requesting that
those responsible be punished. He also applied for a caveat on the land on 25
Sept 2013 because there was no agreement to sell the land to Clarence Sipain.
He also managed to get a copy of the memorandum of
transfer of the land which stated that the selling price was half a million,
but he never got paid that amount. He again confirmed that he never signed or
thumb printed any memorandum of transfer documents. He believed someone was
able to abuse his thumb print. He was totally shocked because he never
recognised who is Clarence Sipain and never agreed to sell the land to him.
He did not recognise the person attesting the transfer
document and never met him at all.
He is in court because he is cheated by Bruno Lojuta@
Tiwot, Clarence Sipain and his lawyer. He never agreed to the price, neither
did he put his thumb print on any document nor did he receive the half million
as stated in the documents.
He believed that his thumb print on a blank sheet of
paper was used to cheat him.
He is able to return the 50 thousand and pleaded the
court for the return of his land.
He is aware the police are still investigating the case
against the first to fourth defendants, and his lawyers have written to the
State Attorney in 2015 and their reply is that they are still investigating.
The plaintiff sums up asking the court to declare the
transfer of the land to Clarence Sipain as void and to order the Land Office
and the ACLR to transfer the land back to him.
He pleaded for compensation for all losses incurred due
to this cheating case including legal cost.
The case has put a strain on his health as an old man
because all he could think of was being cheated of his land.
During cross examination, when asked by counsel why he
did not make a police report against John Bruno, plaintiff replied that he was
his nephew and had treated him as his own.
He disagreed strongly with the question that it was not
wrong for Clarence Sipain to pay for the land by instalment if agreed by his
nephew repeating his earlier testimony that only a full payment was what he
wanted.
The case was heard before Judge Ravinthran Paramaguru,
James Ghani & Co appeared for plaintiff while Bulagang and Co for
defendants one and four while a lawyer from the State Attorney appeared for the
government of Sabah. The rest of the defendants were not named in the hearing
which was adjourned to a tentative date in October.
This is a second case for the first defendant, heard in
the same courthouse block after losing in a separate land case at the Native
Court of Appeal earlier on August 6th.
